Days Until Heartbreak/Running Away
he was my hope my sun's ray but now all i want to do is run away part thirteen of Days Until Heartbreak Aura's withering stare is almost too much for me to handle. Ice stares calmly back at Aura, though he doesn't move away from me. I shake. Aura isn't even glaring at Ice. Her icy blue eyes are piercing right into my soul. I know she's trying to guilt me into confessing but I don't want to think about what she'll do. Ice wraps his tail around me and pushes me behind him. "I recognize you," Aura hisses coldly. Ice doesn't waver. "I saved her life," he replies calmly, "Do you have a problem with that?" "No, but I have a problem with her hanging out with you!" Aura's voice rises hysterically, "She should have a problem with that too! But here I find her, running to your den and ruthlessly risking her life with a tom like you." I close my eyes and shiver. This can't be happening. I should have been more careful. "Aura, please go away." The silver she-cat scoffs. "I'll give you a chance, Sari. You need to rethink your choices. You're about to ruin your life by being with this tom." Ice narrows his eyes. "I'm not a dirty tom who will just take advantage of Sari. She can take care of herself fine, mind you. Love doesn't ruin you. It makes you stronger." "It builds you up and then breaks you down," Aura counters, "That's what Sari taught me at least." I open my eyes and whisper. "Aura, I said go away." The silver she-cat's eyes are wide. "Sari, you don't even know what you're about to do! If I leave now, you can't return. You'll cut off ties with my group forever. We'll cast you aside and treat you like the broken she-cat you will become. Your heart will be tainted by false promises." "I didn't know anything about love," I murmur, "but now I do." "Love is for the weak!" Aura shrieks as she backs away, her pale blue eyes fixed on Ice, "I can't believe you changed her." "He didn't change me," I tell her one last time, "I'' did." Aura is gone before either one of us can move. Ice raises his eyebrow. "She didn't change much from when I first met her." He sounds bemused. I realize I'm still shaking and try to sit down properly. "I was too careless about coming here," I whisper, "I forgot that she insisted to have a buddy system. She must have followed me without being seen. I'm so foolish." Ice makes his way to me again, his tail curling reassuringly around mine. "If you want, you can stay nearby." I turn towards him in confusion. "Why can't I just stay in your den?" Ice blinks. "We're not..." his eyes are wide but I can't tell his emotion, "Sari we're not mates yet. I still need a bit of privacy. Maybe a few days you can sleep over but you need your own den." "What about the other toms?" I whimper, "and Kayli and Kreg are out there somewhere." The white tom straightens at the name 'Kreg'. "Didn't you...restrain them?" he asks carefully, "Why are they out here?" he sweeps his tail around him. "And the other toms won't hurt you, Sari, most of them fear you." "They escaped," I sigh, "if they find me out here I'll be dead in seconds." Ice doesn't look very convinced. "Alright," he relents, "you can stay with me until we get rid of Kayli and Kreg. Just know that...nevermind." I don't argue with that. I slowly make my way into Ice's den - ''our den I suppose - and he follows from behind. "Rest for a bit, Sari, you've had a hard day." I close my eyes and I can feel Ice's body around me as he curls up next to me and licks my cheek. "I love you, Sari," he murmurs. ~ "You're a monster, Sari," Kayli's voice reaches me through a cloudy fog of haze. "Nobody will ever love you. Nobody will ever want you." I flatten my ears and lash out with my claws, trying to find Kayli and destroy her forever. "I'm not a monster!" I scream, "You're the monster!" Kayli's laugh reverberates in my skull. "You think Aura loves you? She wants you gone forever. You think your group cares about you? They wish you were dead and Aura was in control. You think ''Ice loves you? He just wants to use you."'' "What do you know about love?" I hiss. The gray she-cat's malevolent purr makes me cringe. "Love made me whole. But you? Everything will break you, will ruin you forever." I scream again and close my eyes. "You know why?" Kayli whispers in my ear. I don't know how she suddenly got closer. "It's because you're a ''monster, Sari."'' I let out a shriek and try to claw the space behind me. The fog dispersed momentarily but nothing was there. Kayli's laughter filled the area and I clutch my head, trying to shut out all the noise. "You're a monster, Sari." ~ When I wake up, Ice is gone. There's a single mouse in front of me. Ice must have left it behind for me to eat. I sit up and start to groom my fur, trying to calm my nerves. I realize that I don't even know much about Ice's daily life. This is it though, I have to start my own new life. After I finish grooming my fur I dig into the mouse given to me. When I finish polishing it off Ice walks in. He drops a crow and smiles at me, "You're awake." "Where did you go?" I ask instead, tipping my head. "Hunting," he mews matter-of-factly. I shrug and scoot closer to him. Ice obliges and licks the top of my head fondly. "Did you miss me, dear?" he purrs as he rests his head on mine. "Greatly." I try to shake off my nightmare but I can't. Ice is feasting on his crow and I take a deep breath. Kayli is wrong. I'm not a monster anymore. I'll never be one again. With Ice by my side, I'll heal. I'll love and cherish life instead of destroy it. Well...all except one life. Or maybe two. I may have run away from Aura and the anti-tom group, but I won't run away from Shineblossom or Kayli. My enemies can come at me, they can try to break me, but I won't break. I won't fall. I will never relent. I'm ready. "What are you thinking of?" Ice murmurs as he licks my cheek and touches his nose to mine. "You have your little serious face on." I erase all my dark thoughts and beam at him. "Nothing much. I'm just glad we can enjoy this without being worried about anyone else finding out about us." I'm not entirely pleased with that but whatever. Ice doesn't nod right away. Something flits in his eyes but he breaks into a warm purr. "You're right. We shouldn't be worrying about anything else because this is right." I lean against Ice, knowing that he's right. Everything does ''feel perfect and I know we'll make it right. "I love you," Ice whispers. ''I love you. That will be my counter to horrors like Kayli or snobby, filthy she-cats like Shineblossom. Those words will be the counter against anything who dares to cross my path. Those words will be my path to freedom. I stare right into the depths of his blue eyes. "I love you too."